‘Microsoft Dynamics AX’ Category

We often here the question from prospects and others, “How many companies use Microsoft Dynamics NAV or Microsoft Dynamics AX etc.

Well Microsoft has just released its 2015 worldwide breakdown a their Convergence Conference that Clients First is attending.

Here are the numbers:

Microsoft Dynamics® AX

20,000 companies

Microsoft Dynamics® GP

47,000 companies

Microsoft Dynamics® NAV

110,000 companies

Microsoft Dynamics® SL

13,500 companies

Microsoft Dynamics® CRM

40,000 companies

Just with Dynamics NAV alone, over 8,000 companies purchased a new system in the last year as there were only 102,000 last year.

Dynamics AX may have fewer companies using it but they tend to be larger with more user licenses per site.

Dynamics GP and SL are US only solutions and for all intents and purposes, SL is dead as it has shown zero new customers in the last 3 years. GP, according to Microsoft also shows 0 new customers in the last year. Obviously there have been new companies buying it but they likely were offset by those abandoning it. Remember, if you own a solution like GP or SL, and are on maintenance, you can get full credit toward a solution like NAV or AX.

It’s our understanding these statistics make Dynamics NAV the most installed and used mid-market ERP system in the world by a decent margin and AX a leader in the upper mid-market as well.

We are proud to announce that Clients First Business Solutions was once again selected for this prestige award and membership in an elite group of the top 100 VAR’s in the United States. This is the 8th year in a row we made the list and again are in the top 20 of the 100 members.

Clients First was selected as a member of the Bob Scott’s VAR Stars for 2014, a group of 100 organizations honored for their accomplishments in the field of midmarket financial software

Members of the VAR Stars were selected based on factors such growth, industry leadership and recognition, and innovation. Selection is not based on revenue and those firms chosen represent a wide range of size and many different software publishers of accounting software.

“Each year, 100 VAR Stars are picked from the best organizations that market financial software. It is always an honor to recognize those who contribute to the development of our business,” Bob Scott said.

About Clients First

Clients First Business Solutions has been a top tier ERP VAR (Value Added Reseller) since 2003 and who’s founders each have over 25 years of industry experience. Clients First sells, supports, implements, customizes and trains on Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Epicor ERP, SAP Business One, Sage ERP 100, Sage ERP X3 and Accumatica. Clients First specializes in the distribution and manufacturing business sectors.

About Bob Scott

Bob Scott has been informing and entertaining the mid-market financial software community via his email newsletters for 15 years. He has published this information via the “Bob Scott’s Insights” newsletter and website since 2009. He has covered this market for 24 years through print and electronic publications, first as technology editor of Accounting Today and then as the Editor of Accounting Technology from 1997 through 2009. He has covered the traditional tax and accounting profession during the same time and has continued to address that market as executive editor of the Progressive Accountant since 2009.

The latest statistics are out relative to the overall install base, unit and percentage growth of all four Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM products.

This includes:

Microsoft Dynamics AX

Microsoft Dynamics GP

Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Microsoft Dynamics SL

Microsoft Dynamics CRM

The conclusion is hands down Microsoft Dynamics NAV is the install base leader. It’s the most installed mid-market ERP solution in the world. CRM often has many more users per company so although it only has 40,000 companies on it, that equates to 3 million users. To compare, NAV has just over a million users with over 100,000 companies.

Dynamics AX has been growing steadily. The average size and complexity of company using it and average cost of the projects makes AX a much bigger player in terms of overall revenue to Microsoft and the industry than the unit counts would indicate. For example, many of the new Dynamics GP sales this year were because of heavy promotions selling 3 and 5 user GP systems. AX rarely get’s installed in companies using less than 20 users.

Clearly Dynamics SL is not a growth product for Microsoft although it does fit the niche of project accounting companies well.

We’ve all heard the saying about “death and taxes”, and, as the quote would imply, sales tax affects nearly every business in one way or another. Manufacturers and distributors are no exception. Even if the majority of your sales are exempt, sales tax management is still time consuming and error prone, and if not managed properly it can leave you facing unnecessary risk for a costly negative audit.

Use tax and input items taxability – making sure you’re accurately self-assessing use tax on products purchased based on how and where they’re used

Drop shipments on behalf of retailers or distributors – some scenarios can create nexus, and states vary on freight cost taxability

Nexus creation resulting from installations/repairs – taxability and nexus creation rules around these services vary from state to state

As with the manufacturing process in general, having repeatable, consistent processes with respect to sales tax management can help ensure quality. And the best way to establish this consistency is through automation.

Automation can help you streamline processes while becoming more accurate (and thereby reducing audit risk) by providing accurate tax calculations without the need to keep up with thousands of rate, rule, and boundary changes every year. Streamlined exemption certificate management, including digital storage and automatic transaction association, ensures all exempt sales are properly documented and keeps the sales cycle moving. Stress-free returns processing takes away the pain of preparing forms and remitting payment.

Taxes are certain. And with states hiring more auditors and creating new legislation designed at broadening their tax base, audits are starting to become a pretty sure bet for most businesses, as well. But with a few simple proactive measures, manufacturing and distribution businesses can not only survive an audit, but can thrive by streamlining processes and freeing up resources to focus on what’s important.

We’ve created a new microsite around the definition of ERP software. It’s a site that explains how it differs from just Accounting software or something as simple as Quickbooks. The site also specifically talks about Microsoft Dynamics AX and has links to our various video and other content including our specialties in MRO (Maintenance and Repair Organizations) as well as Food manufacturing and distribution. The site talks about specific modules in the areas of:

Accounting

Manufacturing

Accounting & HR

Project Management

Supply Chain Management

Financials

It also discusses typical ERP costs and how to control projects. Check it out Below and thanks to Andi Conti for her great work!